There are times when a good Realtor will talk a buyer or seller off a ledge, not push them over it, says Joan Herlong of Herlong Sotheby’s International Realty.

“Sometimes, the best play is to talk someone out of being my client,” she says. “Because it’s our job to represent their best interests, not ours.”

Herlong points to a recent interaction.

“This couple was serious about buying one home and selling their own,” she says. “Both properties were well over $1 million.”

But there was a hitch — the home they were selling was better than the home they were thinking of buying, and they were both equally sized.

“They were neither downsizing nor upsizing,” Herlong says. “But the home they were interested in had a pool, and the pool was the tail that was wagging the dog.”

Instead of moving

See Full Page